Chongqing has been identified as a strategically important city for opening up the development of Western China. Its economy has grown on average by 9.9% per annum in recent years. The local construction industry is considered one of the major contributors to this development. However, whilst the local construction industry has played an important role in the economic development in Chongqing, it appears that over time the technology and practice in the industry has not advanced as significantly as expected. The Chongqing construction industry is still rather traditional and the deficiencies exist across many areas in the local industry. The typical problems include poor workmanship, a mismatch between design and supply chains, long construction time and inability to meet housing demands. These problems do not only affect the development of the industry as a whole, but also affect the construction reform programs promoted by the government. Housing not only concerns the construction industry, but has a strong association with social and economic development, and as such with the evolution of reform programs in China. Hence, housing is positioned as one of the most important strategic issues on both the central and local governments' agenda. This importance is particularly emphasized in large and densely populated cities such as Chongqing, where the demand for housing is pressing and huge. Against this background, both the central and local governments have been seeking more effective solutions to the efficient implementation of quality housing development. In this respect, industrialized housing has been identified as an alternative approach. The Chongqing Municipal Government has committed to the introduction of industrialized housing to meet the surging demand for accommodation.Housing industrialization has increasingly become a major alternative construction method in China. By adopting new technologies, materials and construction methodology, construction related activities take place both on- and off-site. Principles developed from factory production have been used to prefabricate off-site building components, elements and modules which are then fixed in position on site to efficiently form part of the completed building. However, the procedures of applying housing industrialization in the Chongqing construction industry have never been properly identified and categorized. For example, there are no housing systems or modular coordination specifications, no integrated design, and no standardized guidelines. In particular, the establishment of a specification scheme for the various types of housing systems is essential if the industrialization principles are to be successfully applied. Lack of the above has limited the application of housing industrialization in the local construction industry. The objective of this study is to develop a housing system, which is most suitable for the application of industrialized housing in Chongqing. Among other things, the study has performed the analytic hierarchy process (AHP) to identify typical attributes for industrialized housing, the analysis of the components production methods for industrialized production, and a cost comparison between conventional and industrialized construction methods. It is anticipated that the achievement of economies of scale as a result of industrialization should contribute to the attainment of cost reductions and to meeting the rising aspirations for better quality housing among Chongqing's citizens. Solutions are suggested for enhancing the sufficient quality housing production. These solutions are formulated through a comprehensive examination of the availability and application of indigenous resources, such as labour, materials, tecchnologies, components and plants. The major findings of this research include the attributes affecting the application of industrialized housing development in developing countries, the identification of the most important factors on deciding suitable industrialized housing systems to facilitate application, the identification of the most suitable housing system for industrialized production in Chongqing. The results also have a strong bearing on any large and densely populated cities, and the cost advantages of using industrialized housing systems. This study contributes to the development of an industrialized housing system. The development of using industrialized housing method in the local industry can offer valuable references to other large cities in China.

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